08:12, UK,Friday 28 September 2018
Boris Johnson has launched a blistering attack on Theresa May's Chequers plan, calling it "a moral and intellectual humiliation for this country" that will "cheat the electorate" if implemented.
In an explosive article published ahead of the Conservative Party conference the former foreign secretary urged the prime minister to "chuck Chequers" and adopt a "Super Canada" style proposal instead.
In a column for the Telegraph entitled "A better plan for Brexit", Mr Johnson says: "Overall, the Chequers proposals represent the intellectual error of believing that we can be half-in, half-out: that it is somehow safer and easier for large parts of our national life to remain governed by the EU even though we are no longer in the EU.
"They are in that sense a democratic disaster. There is nothing safe or 'pragmatic' in being bound by rules over which we have no say, interpreted by a federalist court.
"The Chequers proposals are the worst of both worlds.
"They are a moral and intellectual humiliation for this country.
"It is almost incredible that after two years this should be the opening bid of the British government."
Mr Johnson sets out an alternative vision which he says would make Britain "rich, strong and free".
He calls for a new withdrawal agreement which states that the Irish border question will be settled as part of the deal on the future economic arrangements.
He says the implementation period should be used to negotiate and bring into force a "Super Canada" type free-trade agreement and says MPs should not vote to hand over £40bn to the EU without any such agreement.
Mr Johnson says London and Brussels would agree to close cooperation in areas such as defence, security and aviation.
"This is the time to get it right," he says.
"This is the approach that allows this country really to exploit the opportunities of Brexit, to diverge and legislate effectively for the new technologies and businesses in which the UK has such a lead.
"This is an opportunity for the UK to become more dynamic and more successful, and we should not be shy of saying that - and we should recognise that it is exactly this potential our EU partners seek to constrain."
But critics of a Canada-style deal, including Prime Minister Theresa May herself, say it would still mean customs checks between Northern Ireland and Ireland, which could threaten the Good Friday Agreement.
The EU also has reservations, arguing the integrity of its single market could be harmed if there are not proper checks in place.
Mr Johnson's intervention comes two days before the start of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham where Brexit is expected to feature heavily.
His comments also come after Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt called for calm over the current Brexit impasse - claiming there was always going to come a point in negotiations "where everyone was looking into the abyss".
Mr Hunt also backed Mrs May's resolve and warned the EU and doubters in the UK that "underestimating Mrs May is one of the biggest mistakes that you could make right now".
The Chequers plan was publicly rejected by EU leaders in Salzburg last week and both Labour and Tory Eurosceptics said they would vote against any such proposal.
